Impact of Parent-Child Interacation Therapy on the quality of the relationship between caregivers and their children with autism

Abstract

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) has been shown to be an effective intervention for improving compliance for preschool-age children with autism spectrum disorders (Masse, 2009; Vess, 2008). Improvements in positive affect for both parents and children with autism have also been demonstrated for school-age children (Solomon, Ono, Timmer, & Goodlin-Jones, 2008). Evaluation of the effectiveness of PCIT is accomplished typically by using the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System (DPICS; Robinson & Eyberg, 1981) which consists of parent and child behavior codes that focus on changes in parenting skills and child compliance. The majority of studies using the DPICS to evaluate PCIT have focused on increasing child compliance and parent positive verbalizations (Vess, 2008). The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the efficacy of PCIT in improving the interactional quality of the parent-child relationship including documenting changes in parental sensitivity and child responsiveness.